Hi Jason,
Happy NGD 
What a wonderfully beautiful guitar to see, ā¦ Beautifully beautiful
Greetings,ā¦
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What a gorgeous guitar, happy NGD
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Well, there are setups and there are setups. In my experience, a basic low-cost setup is usually neck relief, action, and intonation. Any non-trivial fret work, nut work, and so on would be extra. If you factor in the cost of fret and nut work, too, it may be a little closer. I suspect the āmicroscopic measurement/analysisā is more extensive and accurate than youād get from most luthiers, so that may be a factor. And thereās still a luthier involved during the Plek process. I think of it as āluthier plus specialized toolā rather than āluthier replaced by machine.ā
Iāve never had a guitar Plekād before, so this is something of an experiment for me. I thought Iād try it on a relatively inexpensive guitar and see if it seems worth the money or not. (One nice thing is the guitar was Plekād using my brand/gauge of strings, etc.) Weāll see.
Itās all maple: top, back, sides, and centerblock. Indian laurel fingerboard. Graph Tech NuBone nut. Nickel hardware. Alnico Classic Pro pickups. Grover Rotomatic tuners.
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Oh Jason! This is the guitar Iād hoped to buy as my first electric, but they were unavailable for SO long that I settled on an altogether different guitar. I am seriously considering adding it to my guitar family now that theyāre becoming available again. (Iām partial to the sunburst finish - still not in stock but ācoming soonā.) Please let us know what you think after youāve had a chance to play it! Not planning to spring for the plek, but am also interested in your thoughts about having that done.
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Well, I made it the full 24 hours of waiting and opened it up a bit ago.
First impressions:
- Man, it looks gorgeous. I really like the natural finish.
- Love the slightly smaller body compared to the ES-335
- Neck is a āRounded āCāā according to the specs, and feels a bit chunkier than the Fender āModern Cā necks I tend to play more often.
- Strings feel āslinkyā and easy to bend; I expect thatās down to the scale length difference from Fenders. (Same strings I used on most of my electrics: DāAddario 10-46)
- Relief & action is pretty much perfect for my preferences. 5 of 5.
- Nut and the way itās cut is great. 5 of 5.
- Frets are polished to glassy smoothness and feel great. 5 of 5.
- Fret ends are good, but not perfect. Most are excellent, a few are just āgood,ā and one end of the first fret could definitely have used some more attention. Call it 3.5 of 5.
- Pickups sound good to my ears. Iāll need some more time to get a feel for them, though.
- In general the guitar feels well made. Tuners feel smooth and good, knobs feel good.
- I picked up an Epiphone hard case for the guitar, as well. I like it. Fits perfect, looks good.
The difference between the 5 of 5 fret level/crown/polish and the 3.5 of 5 fret end dressing is interesting. I suspect that may be down to āthe machine did the grind and polishā and a human was responsible for the end dressing. But thatās just a suspicion; I donāt know for certain.
In any case, the fret end dressing is a minor concern compared to the way the surface of the frets feel and the guitar plays. It plays great: smooth with no buzzing, no dead spots, etc.
So was the Plek worth it? Iām not sure. I guess it would be better to do a before and after comparison, which is obviously impossible in this case.
Iāve picked up many Epiphones in music stores over the years. Theyāve been kind of hit or miss on how they were set up/finished and felt. I guess if the Plek pretty much guaranteed this one (that I ordered online and had never touched) was a āhitā and not a āmissā then that was probably worth it, to me.
(FWIW, I usually do my own basic setups, covering the relief, action, and intonation. But other than touching up a polish, I havenāt done any work/filing on frets. For that kind of thing I take it to a luthier.)
Iāll try to remember to report back after a month or so to see if my impressions have changed.
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Thatās a pretty comprehensive write-up, Jason. Thanks.
All in all it actually sounds like good value.
I have never met anyone who regretted spending money on something that they enjoyed or were happy with.
Technology tends to become cheaper with time, and it wouldnāt surprise me if most guitar manufacturers incorporated this as standard down the line.
Once again Happy NGD! 
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I think many of them do, already. However, it could still be beneficial to get the guitar set up with your preferred strings, desired action and play-style.
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Very nice guitar, looks almost like my Casino Congratulations!
This plekking looks interesting, but I think it would be even more useful to have a before/after comparison to see how much adjustment was really done. I guess this could be a viable solution when the buyer doesnāt have a luthier nearby to do the setup.
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Beautifull 
Happy NGD 
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Whoa, that grain is gorgeous. Iāve never seen a 335 with that color scheme. Iāve been thinking about getting an Epi 335 because, for me, they are so comfortable to use when sitting down. I went for an Epi Les Paul Modern out of the gate because of the looks, not knowing that some guitars are awkward to play when seated. Congrats on that awesome guitar!
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Are you playing it with the guitar resting on top of your right leg? You might try resting the guitar on the top of your left leg, with the tail end of the guitar supported by your inner right leg. Youād need to elevate the neck more, and might need to put your left foot on something to raise your left leg a bit. Basically the same position that is used in classical guitar.
I saw a pic of your Les Paul in the other thread. Thatās a beauty!
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Hi, yeah itās on my right leg. Iāll try the left leg and see how it goes! Thanks for the tip. 
Iām glad you like my guitar!
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Jason, thank you for the review! Just received a email from Sweetwater that the sunburst finish came available today. Now I have to make a decision! Iām still a beginner, and feel a bit guilty justifying another guitar!! 
Thanks too for the photo with a suggested seated posture.
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Iām probably a bad influence when it comes to guitar purchase decisions. I say life is way too short to pass up a guitar you want. If you have the means and the guitar calls to you, then go for it! Iām very impressed with my ES-339; itās beautiful and plays like a dream. (If you want to hear it thereās a recording here.)
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